In Australia at the federal level of government, we have some of the shortest election cycles in the world: often barely three years. This mitigates against even medium-term planning. A new government takes a year to learn the ropes of office, another year to govern before preparing for re-election in the third. And even if a government survives that long, the odds are its leader won’t.
The costs of impatience: A psychic disorder of modern capitalism? By Scott Burchill
As a government minister, why forward plan and propose large national projects which might take more than a decade to complete if you are not in office to take the credit for them?